AIR POLLUTION

Unit 5 Air Pollution

Introduction, causes, sources, characteristics, effects of air pollution on plants, humans,
animals and materials and atmosphere, air pollution control methods and equipment.

Why clean air is essential to our survival?

We inhale about 16 kg of air in a day breathing approximately 22000 times.
Air constitutes 80% of man’s daily intake by weight.
Even a microgram per liter of air concentration of a pollutant can result in significantly
hazardous quantity to affect human health due to this huge volume of air one breaths in
during one’s lifespan.

From where do we get our quota of air?

Atmosphere: quantity of air available, extent, composition – different layers their importance to air
pollution.
• Four layers of atmosphere:
• Troposphere : extends from surface to 17km; 75% of total mass of atmosphere; where
weather occurs, air currents etc.; natural air – 78% N2, 21% O2, 1% Ar, 0.036% CO2;
varying amounts of H2O vapor (1-4%); highest atmospheric pressure; temperature decreases
with altitude; ends at tropopause.

• Stratosphere : extends from 17km to 48km; contains less matter than troposphere; ozone
layer (1000x more than trop.); very little water vapor (1000x less than trop); very calm, no
 weather, suspended matter will stay for many years, little mixing at tropopause; temperature
rises as you increase altitude (because molecules are absorbing greater amount of sun’s
energy); ends at the stratopause.
• Mesosphere : extends from 48 to 80km; characterized by a temperature reversal with
decreasing temps as you go up; ends at the mesopause.
• Thermosphere: extends from 80kn to 1600km; ionized gases; temperatures increase as you
go up because molecules are being constantly bombarded by high energy radiation;
ionosphere -lower portion, aurora borealis; there is no end to the thermosphere, it just
gradually fades into space

What is air pollution?

Air pollution may be defined as the presence in the atmosphere of one or more contaminants
in such quantities for such duration that is injurious to or tends to be injurious to human
health or welfare, and animal or plant life. This contaminant may be particulate matter, dust,
fumes, gas, mist, smoke, vapor or odorous substances, or any combination thereof.

Is air pollution a reality?

There are several reasons to worry about air pollution. Some are:
Air pollution affects every one of us.
Air pollution can cause health problems and, may be, death.
Air pollution reduces crop yields and affects animal life.
Air pollution can contaminate soil and corrode materials.

What are the sources? Who is responsible?

Ambient air pollution may be either natural or human generated.
Natural sources: volcanic eruptions, dust storms, sea salt spray, forest fires, hot springs,
forest plants’ emissions etc.
Man-made (anthropogenic) sources:
Combustion: industry – fossil fuel based thermal power plants, cement industry, metal
industry; transportation sector, mining activities, mineral processing etc.

Why anthropogenic air pollution and not the natural sources are responsible for air
pollution?
The natural sources though contribute some pollutants in substantial quantities, their scale
of release is global and pollutants are diluted over the global scale and natural purification
and scavenging action takes care of these eventually. On the other hand most of the
anthropogenic sources emit pollutants at local scale with practically little dilution resulting
in exposure to substantial concentration of pollutants of the population. The ntuarl
purification and scavenging also are not enough because of high local concentration of these
pollutants. While natural episodes of air pollution activities are sporadic giving sufficient
time to natural self cleansing mechanisms to successfully clean and dilute the pollutants,
while anthropogenic sources continuously emit the pollutants.
Various pollutants and their effects:
National Ambient Air Quality Standards: Criteria Pollutants: (Standards established under
NAAQS):
 sulfur dioxide
 nitrogen dioxide
 carbon monoxide
 ozone
 lead
 particulate matter less than 10 microns in diameter (PM 10)
 and particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM 2.5).
 Ammonia
 Benzene
 Benzo (a) Pyrene
 Arsenic
 Nickel
 MAJOR AIR POLLUTANTS

POLLUTANT DESCRIPTION SOURCE (s) EFFECTS

coal-burning power
eye irritation;
plants and industries;
Sulfur Dioxide dead aquatic life;
gaseous compound industrial boilers and
lung damage;
made up of sulfur and processes;
reacts in atmosphere, resulting in
( SO2 ) oxygen coal-burning stoves;
acidic precipitation,
Refineries;
deteriorates buildings and statues,
Heaters;
damage forests

dry cleaning operations.

auto paint shop;
chemical plants;
Composed of hydrogen
Hydrocarbons auto emissions;
and carbon.
service stations;
waste facilities;

Ozone gaseous pollutant vehicle exhaust lung damage

eye irritation
( O3 ) respiratory tract problem

diesel engines
damage crops
very small particles of power plants
lung damage
soot, dust, or other steel industry, flour
Particulate Matter reduce visibility
matter, including tiny mills
discolor buildings and statues
droplets of liquids windblown dust
eye irritation
wood stoves

vehicles
industrial boilers lung damage
industrial processes forms acid rain, damaging forests,
several gaseous
Nitrogen Oxides ( NOx power plants buildings, & statues
compounds made up of
) commercial and forms ozone and other pollutants
nitrogen and oxygen
residential heaters (smog)
coal-burning stoves
natural gas pipelines
vehicles burning leaded
Lead ( Pb ) metallic element brain, kidney damage
gasoline
contaminated crops and livestock
power plants
smog
metal refineries
 vehicles burning
Carbon Monoxide ( CO gasoline headaches, reduced mental
colorless, odorless gas
) indoor sources include alertness, death
kerosene- or wood- heart damage
burning stoves smog
dry cleaners

Primary Pollutants

* injected into the atmosphere directly..... chemicals that are harmful in the form in
which they are released into the environment. examples include:

 carbon monoxide (CO)

o odorless, colorless, poisonous gas
o created by incomplete combustion (especially bad with older cars)
o generates headaches, drowsiness, fatigue, can result in death
 oxides of nitrogen (NOx, NO)
o NO - nitric oxide
o emitted directly by autos, industry
 sulfur oxides (SOx)
o SO2 - sulfur dioxide
o produced largely through coal burning
o responsible for acid rain problem
 volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
o highly reactive organic compounds
o release through incomplete combustion and industrial sources
 particulate matter (dust, ash, salt particles)
o bad for your lungs

Secondary Pollutants

– form in the atmosphere through chemical and photochemical reactions from the primary
pollutants
– chemicals which are modified and become harmful after mixing in the troposphere with
other chemicals
– the sun provides the energy for many of these reactions
 examples include:
o sulfuric acid H2SO4
 can cause respiratory problems
o nitrogen dioxide NO2
 gives air a brownish coloration

o ozone O3
 colorless gas
 has a sweet smell
  is an oxidizing agent - lung tissue to rubber products
 irritates the eyes

Major Types of Pollutants

 Sulfur Oxides
 Carbon Oxides
 Particulates
 Hydrocarbons (VOCs)
 Nitrogen Oxides
 Photochemical Oxidants
 Lead
Sulfur Oxides (SO2)
• Humans cause 1/4 of sulfur emissions (180mill) yearly by burning fossil fuels (coal)
• Other sources are sea spray, organisms and volcanoes
• reduce visibility by as much as 80%
Human Caused SO2 Production
Reactions of Sulfur Dioxide
• SO 2 + O2 SO3

• SO3 + H2O H2SO4

• H2SO4 + H2O H3O+ + SO42-

Carbon Oxides
• Most of CO2 emitted each year is produced by respiration and is balanced by photosynthesis
• Anthropogenic CO and CO2 are produced by burning fossil fuels
• Carbon dioxide causes global warming (more later)
Human-caused CO production
• Carbon monoxide is formed by the incomplete burning of fossil fuels
• Most is produced through burning of gas in transportation
• It is destructive because it binds to hemoglobin in place of O2
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
• Organic chemicals that are gases
• Plants are the largest sources
• Examples:
450 mil tons isoprene C5H8

450 mil tons terpenes C10H15

400 mil tons methane CH4

• These are turned into CO and CO2 in the atmosphere

VOC’s emitted by humans
• Humans are responsible for 20% of annual VOC emission
VOC’s emitted by humans
• Most are produced in paint and cleaning solution formation
• Some are also produced in the burning of fuel for transportation
Particulate Matter
• Particulate matter is solid or liquid material suspended in a gaseous medium
• Obvious forms of pollution because they reduce visibility and leave dirt
• Hurt respiratory tissues, long lasting effects
• Farming, volcanoes, fires and desertification cause
Particulate Matter Production
• PM-10 particulate matter - matter that that is less than 10microns in diameter (most dangerous)
Nitrogen Oxides (NO2)
• Created by burning of fossil fuels when gas reaches 650F
• At this point, nitrogen combines with oxygen to make nitrogen oxides
• Major component of Photochemical Smog (mixture of pollutants formed with sunlight)
Human Caused NOx Production
• Produced by a combination of fuel burning for electricity and transportation
• Annual emissions = 21,300,000 metric tons
Reactions of Nitrogen Oxides
•N 2 + O2 NO

• NO + O2 NO2
• NO + H2O
2 HNO3 + NO
Ozone and Photochemical Oxidants
• Although atmospheric ozone is beneficial, ground level ozone is a serious pollutant
• Ozone is produced by a series of secondary reactions
• Ozone acts as an oxidizing agent can be damaging to living tissue as well as plastics and rubber
Production of Photochemical Oxidants and Photochemical Smog
• NO2 + UV NO + O (free radical)
• O + O2 O3
• NO + VOC NO2 + PAN (peroxylacyl nitrates) + aldehydes
• O3, NO2 and PANs are called photochemical oxidants because they react with chemicals in the
atmosphere or your body that they shouldn’t
Metals and Halogens
• lead, mercury, arsenic nickel, etc.
• lead occurs in trace amounts in fuels (leaded gas)
• others are mined, and released in ore smelting
• mercury is produced by burning wastes and coal
• halogens are used in aerosols (CFCs)
• HF is produced by the burning of coal
What is Industrial Smog?
• In cities where are large amount of coal is burned, a smog is produced that is rich in soot
particles, sulfurous compounds and water vapor
• Can be found in any industrialized city where the primary energy source is coal
It is difficult to quantify the toll of outdoor air pollution. On a global basis, estimates of
mortality due to outdoor air pollution run from around 200,000 to 570,000, representing
about 0.4 to 1.1 percent of total annual deaths.
The World Bank has estimated that exposure to particulate levels exceeding the WHO health
standard accounts for roughly 2 to 5 percent of all deaths in urban areas in the developing
world.
air pollution in developing world cities is responsible for some 50 million cases per year of
chronic coughing in children younger than 14 years of age.

Health effects span a wide range of severity from coughing and bronchitis to heart disease
and lung cancer. Vulnerable groups include infants, the elderly, and those suffering from
chronic respiratory conditions including asthma, bronchitis, or emphysema.

Bronchitis, tightness in the chest, and wheezing, are acute, or short term, and can be reversed
if air pollution exposures decline.
Other effects appear to be chronic, such as lung cancer and cardiopulmonary disease.

Various Ambient Air Standards

 Primary standards are set to protect human health.
 Secondary standards are set to protect public welfare and take into consideration such
factors as crop damage, architectural damage, damage to ecosystems, and visibility in
scenic areas.

Transport of pollutant from source to receptor

Effect of climate, Dispersion, air pollution modeling

Air Pollution Control
Techniques Without Using Emissions Control Devices:
 Process Change
 Wind, Geothermal, Hydroelectric, or Solar Unit instead of Fossil fired Unit.
 Change in Fuel
 e.g. Use of Low Sulfur Fuel, instead of High Sulfur fuel.
 Good Operating Practices
 Good Housekeeping
 Maintenance
 Plant Shutdown
Commonly Used Methods For Air Pollution Control:
PARTICULATE
 Cyclones
 Electrostatic Precipitators
 Fabric Filter
 Wet Scrubbers
GASES
 Adsorption Towers
 Thermal Incernation
 Catalytic Combustion

SOX CONTROL
GENERAL METHODS FOR CONTROL OF SO2 EMISSIONS:
Change to Low Sulfur Fuel
 Natural Gas
 Liquefied Natural Gas
 Low Sulfur Oil
 Low Sulfur Coal
Use Desulfurized Coal and Oil Increase Effective Stack Height
 Build Tall Stacks
 Redistribution of Stack Gas Velocity Profile
 Modification of Plume Buoyancy
 Use Flue Gas Desulfurization Systems
 Use Alternative Energy Sources, such as Hydro-Power or Nuclear-Power
Flue Gas Desulfurization:
 SO2 scrubbing, or Flue Gas Desulfurization processes can be classified as:
 Throwaway or Regenerative, depending upon whether the recovered sulfur is
discarded or recycled.
 Wet or Dry, depending upon whether the scrubber is a liquid or a solid.
 Flue Gas Desulfurization Processes
The major flue gas desulfurization ( FGD ), processes are :
 Limestone Scrubbing
 Lime Scrubbing
 Dual Alkali Processes
 Lime Spray Drying
 Wellman-Lord Process

NOX CONTROL
General Methods For Control Of Nox Emissions
 NOx control can be achieved by:
 Fuel Denitrogenation
 Combustion Modification
 Modification of operating conditions
 Tail-end control equipment
 Selective Catalytic Reduction
  Selective Non - Catalytic Reduction
 Electron Beam Radiation
 Staged Combustion

CARBON MONOXIDE CONTROL

General Methods For Control of CO Emissions
 Control carbon monoxide formation.
Note : CO & NOx control strategies are in conflict.
 Stationary Sources
 Proper Design
 Installation
 Operation
 Maintenance
 Process Industries
Burn in furnaces or waste heat boilers.

CARBON DIOXIDE CONTROL

General Methods For Control of CO2 Emissions
 Reducing energy consumption, increasing the efficiency of energy conversion
 Switching to less carbon intensive fuels
 Increasing the use of renewable sources
 Sequestering CO2 through biological, chemical, or physical processes

CONTROL OF MERCURY EMISSIONS

 Mercury exists in trace amounts in
 Fossil fuels such as Coal, Oil, and Natural Gas
 Vegetation
 Waste products
 Mercury is released to the atmosphere through combustion or natural processes
 It creates both human and environmental risks
 Fish consumption is the primary pathway for human and wildlife exposure
Control Technologies for Mercury Emissions
 Currently installed control devices for SO2, NOX, and particulates, in a power plant, remove
some of the mercury before releasing from the stack
 Activated Carbon Injection:
Particles of activated carbon are injected into the exit gas flow, downstream of the boiler. The
mercury attaches to the carbon particles and is removed in a particle control device
 Thief process for the removal of mercury from flue gas:
It is a process which extracts partially burned coal from a pulverized coal-fired combustor using a
suction pipe, or "thief," and injects the resulting sorbent into the flue gas to capture the mercury.

PARTICULATE MATTER CONTROL

General Methods For Control Of Particulate Emissions
 Five Basic Types of Dust Collectors :
Gravity and Momentum collectors
 Settling chambers, louvers, baffle chambers
 Centrifugal Collectors
 Cyclones
 Mechanical centrifugal collectors
Fabric Filters
 Baghouses
 Fabric collectors

Electrostatic Precipitators
 Tubular
 Plate
 Wet
 Dry
Wet Collectors
 Spray towers
 Impingement scrubbers
 Wet cyclones
 Peaked towers
 Mobile bed scrubbers

Particulate Collection Mechanism:

 Gravity Settling
 Centrifugal Impaction
 Inertial Impaction
 Direct Interception
 Diffusion
 Electrostatic Effects
Cyclones:
 Principle
• The particles are removed by the application of a centrifugal force. The polluted gas
stream is forced into a vortex. the motion of the gas exerts a centrifugal force on the
particles, and they get deposited on the inner surface of the cyclones

Construction and Operation

• The gas enters through the
inlet, and is forced into a
spiral.
• At the bottom, the gas
reverses direction and flows
upwards.
• To prevent particles in the
incoming stream from
contaminating the clean gas,
a vortex finder is provided to
separate them. the cleaned
 gas flows out through the vortex finder.
• Advantages of Cyclones
• Cyclones have a lost capital cost
• Reasonable high efficiency for specially designed cyclones.
• They can be used under almost any operating condition.
• Cyclones can be constructed of a wide variety of materials.
• There are no moving parts, so there are no maintenance requirements.
• Disadvantages of Cyclones
• They can be used for small particles
• High pressure drops contribute to increased costs of operation.

Fabric Filters:

 Principle
 The filters retain particles larger than the mesh size
 Air and most of the smaller particles flow through. Some of the smaller particles are
retained due to interception and diffusion.
 The retained particles cause a reduction in the mesh size.
 The primary collection is on the layer of previously deposited particles.
Advantages of Fabric Filters:
 Very high collection efficiency
 They can operate over a wide range of volumetric flow rates
 The pressure drops are reasonably low.
 Fabric Filter houses are modular in design, and can be pre-assembled at the factory
Disadvantages of Fabric Filters
 Fabric Filters require a large floor area.
 The fabric is damaged at high temperature.
  Ordinary fabrics cannot handle corrosive gases.
 Fabric Filters cannot handle moist gas streams
 A fabric filtration unit is a potential fire hazard

Electrostatic Precipitator:

 Principle
 The particles in a polluted gas stream are charged by passing them through an
electric field.
 The charged particles are led through collector plates
 The collector plates carry charges opposite to that on the particles
 The particles are attracted to these collector plates and are thus removed from the
gas steam
 Construction and Operation of Electrostatic Precipitator
 Charging Electrodes in the form of thin wires are placed in the path of the influent
gas.
 The charging electrodes generate a strong electric field, which charges the particles
as they flow through it.
 The collector plates get deposited with the particles. the particles are occasionally
removed either by rapping or by washing the collector plates.
 Advantages of Electrostatic Precipitators
 Electrostatic precipitators are capable very high efficiency, generally of the order of
99.5-99.9%.
 Since the electrostatic precipitators act on the particles and not on the air, they can
handle higher loads with lower pressure drops.
 They can operate at higher temperatures.
 The operating costs are generally low.
 Disadvantages of Electrostatic Precipitators
 The initial capital costs are high.
  Although they can be designed for a variety of operating conditions, they are not
very flexible to changes in the operating conditions, once installed.
 Particulate with high resistivity may go uncollected.

Wet Scrubbers:
  Principle
 Wet scrubbers are used for removal of particles which have a diameter of the order
of 0.2 mm or higher.
 Wet scrubbers work by spraying a stream of fine liquid droplets on the incoming
stream.
 The droplets capture the particles
 The liquid is subsequently removed for treatment.
 Construction and Operation
 A wet scrubber consists of a rectangular or circular chamber in which nozzles are
mounted.
 The nozzles spray a stream of droplets on the incoming gas stream
 The droplets contact the particulate matter, and the particles get sorbed.
 The droplet size has to be optimized.
 Smaller droplets provide better cleaning, but are more difficult to remove from the
cleaned stream.
 The polluted spray is collected.
 Particles are settled out or otherwise removed from the liquid.
 The liquid is recycled.
 Wet scrubbers are also used for the removal of gases from the air streams.
 Smaller droplets provide better cleaning, but are more difficult to remove from the
cleaned stream.
 The polluted spray is collected.
 Particles are settled out or otherwise removed from the liquid.
 The liquid is recycled.
 Wet scrubbers are also used for the removal of gases from the air streams.

 Advantages of Wet Scrubbers

 Wet Scrubbers can handle incoming streams at high temperature, thus removing the
need for temperature control equipment.
 Wet scrubbers can handle high particle loading.
 Loading fluctuations do not affect the removal efficiency.
 They can handle explosive gases with little risk.
 Gas adsorption and dust collection are handled in one unit.
 Corrosive gases and dusts are neutralized.
 Disadvantages of Wet Scrubbers
 High potential for corrosive problems
 Effluent scrubbing liquid poses a water pollution problem.

Cyclone Spray Chambers:

 These scrubbers combine a cyclone with a spray nozzle.
 The added centrifugal force permits good separation of the droplets, hence a smaller
droplet size can be used.
 Cyclone spray chambers provide up to 95% removal of particles > 5 micron.
Orifice Scrubbers:
 The gas is impacted onto a layer of the scrubbing liquid.
  The gas passes through the liquid, thus removing almost all the particulate matter,
and a large portion of the probable gases.
 After coming out of the liquid, the gas is passed through baffles to remove the
liquid droplets.
Impingement Scrubbers:
 In Impingement scrubbers, the gas impacts a layer of liquid/froth through a
perforated tray.
 Passing through this layer removes the particulate matter.
 The wet gas stream is then passed through a mist collector.
Venturi Scrubbers:

 The dirty gas is led in to the

chamber at high inlet velocities.
 At the inlet throat, liquid at low
pressure is added to the gas stream
 This increases the relative velocity
between the gas and the droplets,
thus increasing the efficiency of
removal.
 Efficiencies of the range of 95% for
particles larger than 0.2 mm have
been obtained.

Air Pollution Control For Gases

 Adsorption Towers
 Thermal Incernation
 Catalytic Combustion

Adsorption Towers:
 Principle
 Adsorption towers use adsorbents to remove the impurities from the gas stream.
 The impurities bind either physically or chemically to the adsorbing material.
 The impurities can be recovered by regenerating the adsorbent.
 Adsorption towers can remove low concentrations of impurities from the flue gas
stream.
 Construction and Operation
 
Adsorption towers consist of cylinders packed with the adsorbent.

The adsorbent is supported on a heavy screen

Since adsorption is temperature dependent, the flue gas is temperature conditioned.

Vapor monitors are provided to detect for large concentrations in the effluent. Large
concentrations of the pollutant in the effluent indicate that the adsorbent needs to be
regenerated.
 Advantages of Adsorption Towers
 Very low concentrations of pollutants can be removed.
 Energy consumption is low.
 Do not need much maintenance.
 Economically valuable material can be recovered during regeneration.